United States v. Lopez

E7030

U.S. Supreme Court case landmark case

United States v. Lopez is a 1995 U.S. Supreme Court case that marked the first time in decades the Court struck down a federal law for exceeding Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause, signaling a revival of limits on federal regulatory authority.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (4)

Surface form	Occurrences
United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995)	2
The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 exceeds Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause	1
United States v. Alfonso Lopez, Jr.	1
United States v. Morrison	1

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	U.S. Supreme Court case ⓘ landmark case ⓘ
appealedFrom	United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ⓘ
areaOfLaw	Commerce Clause jurisprudence ⓘ constitutional law ⓘ federalism ⓘ
arguedDate	1994-11-08 ⓘ
chiefJusticeAtDecision	William H. Rehnquist ⓘ
citation	514 U.S. 549 ⓘ
concurringOpinionBy	Anthony M. Kennedy ⓘ Clarence Thomas ⓘ
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted	Commerce Clause ⓘ Necessary and Proper Clause ⓘ Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ surface form: Tenth Amendment (federalism principles)
country	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
court	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
decadeContext	Rehnquist Court federalism revival ⓘ
decisionDate	1995-04-26 ⓘ
definedCategoryOfCommercePower	activities that substantially affect interstate commerce ⓘ channels of interstate commerce ⓘ instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or persons or things in interstate commerce ⓘ
dissentingOpinionBy	David H. Souter ⓘ John Paul Stevens ⓘ Ruth Bader Ginsburg ⓘ Stephen G. Breyer ⓘ
fullName	United States v. Lopez self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: United States v. Alfonso Lopez, Jr.
holding	United States v. Lopez self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 exceeds Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause
issue	Whether Congress exceeded its Commerce Clause power by enacting the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 ⓘ
joinedByInMajority	Anthony M. Kennedy ⓘ Antonin Scalia ⓘ Clarence Thomas ⓘ Sandra Day O’Connor ⓘ
jurisdiction	federal ⓘ
lawStruckDown	Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) ⓘ
majorityOpinionBy	William H. Rehnquist ⓘ
originatingCourt	United States District Court for the Western District of Texas ⓘ
petitioner	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
reasoningSummary	Allowing regulation of non-economic activity like gun possession would convert the Commerce Clause into a general police power ⓘ Possession of a gun in a local school zone is not an economic activity that substantially affects interstate commerce ⓘ The statute contained no jurisdictional element tying the regulated activity to interstate commerce ⓘ
reporter	United States Reports ⓘ
respondent	Alfonso Lopez, Jr. ⓘ
significance	Clarified categories of activity Congress may regulate under the Commerce Clause ⓘ First time in decades the Supreme Court invalidated a federal statute as exceeding Congress’s Commerce Clause power ⓘ Marked a revival of judicially enforced limits on federal regulatory authority ⓘ
subsequentCitationIn	Gonzales v. Raich ⓘ United States v. Morrison ⓘ
volume	514 ⓘ
vote	5–4 ⓘ
year	1995 ⓘ

Referenced by (15)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Alfonso Lopez, Jr. → caseCitation → United States v. Lopez ⓘ

subject surface form: Alfonso Lopez Jr.

this entity surface form: United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995)

Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) → challengedIn → United States v. Lopez ⓘ

subject surface form: Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990

this entity surface form: United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995)

Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution → citedIn → United States v. Lopez ⓘ

United States v. Lopez → fullName → United States v. Lopez self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: United States v. Alfonso Lopez, Jr.

Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) → heldUnconstitutionalIn → United States v. Lopez ⓘ

subject surface form: Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990

United States v. Lopez → holding → United States v. Lopez self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 exceeds Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause

Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution → keyCase → United States v. Lopez ⓘ

Commerce Clause → limitedByCase → United States v. Lopez ⓘ

this entity surface form: United States v. Morrison

substantial effects doctrine → limitedByCase → United States v. Lopez ⓘ

Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) → notableCase → United States v. Lopez ⓘ

subject surface form: Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990

William H. Rehnquist → notableCaseParticipation → United States v. Lopez ⓘ

Alfonso Lopez, Jr. → partyTo → United States v. Lopez ⓘ

subject surface form: Alfonso Lopez Jr.

Gonzales v. Raich → relatedCase → United States v. Lopez ⓘ

United States v. Morrison → relatedTo → United States v. Lopez ⓘ